Cullman holding 32nd annual Oktoberfest

People dance to a German band during the Oktoberfest celebration in Cullman, Ala., Monday, Oct. 4, 2011. With German roots and a small-town ethic that's conservative to the core, Cullman celebrated Oktoberfest for decades with oompah music and lederhosen, but no beer. That changed this week as organizers tapped a keg of beer for the first time at Cullman's Oktoberfest, ending an autumn prohibition that gained the town of 14,000 fame as the home of what organizers proudly billed as the world's only "dry"? Oktoberfest. Hundreds of people sipped beer and cheered at a stein-hoisting contest as Oktoberfest sold alcohol for the first time Monday night.

File | The Associated Press

By Ashley ChaffinStaff Writer | The Tuscaloosa News

Published: Tuesday, October 8, 2013 at 5:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, October 8, 2013 at 5:44 p.m.

Cullman, a city a little more than 100 miles northeast of Tuscaloosa that was founded by German immigrants in 1873, will be home this week to a celebration of German culture, food, music and beer.

The 32nd annual Cullman Oktoberfest began Oct. 5, with the tapping of the keg and naming of the burgermeister, the honorary mayor of Oktoberfest, and will continue through Saturday.

The festival will feature plenty of events each day.

On weekdays, the Festhalle Market Platz, which is the festival's main entertainment area, will have live music and food vendors during lunch. Food vendors will serve everything, from classic German cuisine to barbecue. From 6 p.m. until 12 a.m., the Biergarten, or beer garden, will be open.

Each night, local restaurants will prepare classic German meals.

"German food is a very meat-and-potatoes type of meal," said Julie Burks, secretary of the Oktoberfest executive council.

She said one of the most popular meals in Germany is sauerbraten, which is similar to a Sunday roast. The meat is marinated for several days and then slow cooked. Throughout the cooking time, vegetables are added.

"It's very common to what we eat nowadays … they just prepare it a little differently," she said. "They use a lot of French techniques in German cooking."

Cullman restaurant Busy Bee Café will serve a German meal every night. Burks said the cafe brought in someone who specializes in German craft beer and created their menu around the beer they will be serving.

This is just the third Cullman Oktoberfest to serve beer because the city prohibited the sale of alcohol until a referendum in November 2010. Burks said beer was the element that was missing for many visitors while the city was "dry."

"That's part of their heritage," she said. "Sometimes, they couldn't understand how we could have an Oktoberfest and not have beer."

The Alabama Brewers Guild, with the help of Free the Hops and Cullman Homebrewers Guild have created the Alabama Craft Biergarten at this year's festival. Featured in the Biergarten are beers brewed in Alabama that pair well with the German cuisine.

"This will be the first year since Prohibition that we have a Cullman brewery (The Blue Moose) producing a craft beer to serve at our festival," Burks said. "We're super-psyched about that."

Cullman has an entertainment district, allowing guests to enjoy their beer and the festival at the same time.

Burks said the busiest days for the festival are typically the first and last Saturday. Events scheduled for this Saturday include a barbecue competition, the Oktoberfest run and a bratwurst-eating contest.

The barbecue competition is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society and serves as an official competition.

"I think there are over 60 or 70 teams that are going to be out there," she said. "We have professional teams and we have backyard teams — a lot of the backyard teams are local."

The other competition for the day — the bratwurst-eating contest — has a four-year defending champion.

<p>Cullman, a city a little more than 100 miles northeast of Tuscaloosa that was founded by German immigrants in 1873, will be home this week to a celebration of German culture, food, music and beer.</p><p>The 32nd annual Cullman Oktoberfest began Oct. 5, with the tapping of the keg and naming of the burgermeister, the honorary mayor of Oktoberfest, and will continue through Saturday. </p><p>The festival will feature plenty of events each day. </p><p>On weekdays, the Festhalle Market Platz, which is the festival's main entertainment area, will have live music and food vendors during lunch. Food vendors will serve everything, from classic German cuisine to barbecue. From 6 p.m. until 12 a.m., the Biergarten, or beer garden, will be open.</p><p>Each night, local restaurants will prepare classic German meals. </p><p>"German food is a very meat-and-potatoes type of meal," said Julie Burks, secretary of the Oktoberfest executive council.</p><p>She said one of the most popular meals in Germany is sauerbraten, which is similar to a Sunday roast. The meat is marinated for several days and then slow cooked. Throughout the cooking time, vegetables are added. </p><p>"It's very common to what we eat nowadays … they just prepare it a little differently," she said. "They use a lot of French techniques in German cooking." </p><p>Cullman restaurant Busy Bee Café will serve a German meal every night. Burks said the cafe brought in someone who specializes in German craft beer and created their menu around the beer they will be serving. </p><p>This is just the third Cullman Oktoberfest to serve beer because the city prohibited the sale of alcohol until a referendum in November 2010. Burks said beer was the element that was missing for many visitors while the city was "dry." </p><p>"That's part of their heritage," she said. "Sometimes, they couldn't understand how we could have an Oktoberfest and not have beer." </p><p>The Alabama Brewers Guild, with the help of Free the Hops and Cullman Homebrewers Guild have created the Alabama Craft Biergarten at this year's festival. Featured in the Biergarten are beers brewed in Alabama that pair well with the German cuisine. </p><p>"This will be the first year since Prohibition that we have a Cullman brewery (The Blue Moose) producing a craft beer to serve at our festival," Burks said. "We're super-psyched about that." </p><p>Cullman has an entertainment district, allowing guests to enjoy their beer and the festival at the same time. </p><p>Burks said the busiest days for the festival are typically the first and last Saturday. Events scheduled for this Saturday include a barbecue competition, the Oktoberfest run and a bratwurst-eating contest.</p><p>The barbecue competition is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society and serves as an official competition. </p><p>"I think there are over 60 or 70 teams that are going to be out there," she said. "We have professional teams and we have backyard teams — a lot of the backyard teams are local." </p><p>The other competition for the day — the bratwurst-eating contest — has a four-year defending champion.</p>